Nickel Brook Bolshevik Bastard
Our Nickel Brook ’Bolshevik Bastard’ Russian Imperial Stout is scientific creation brewed especially for those of you who aren’t afraid of big and bold flavours! Made with a blend of Roasted, Chocolate and Crystal malts; this Imperial Stout exhibits many deep flavours of rich, roasty chocolate and dark fruit. To counterbalance the sweetness, the Bolshevik Bastard is aggressively hopped to give rise to this remarkably smooth Russian Imperial Stout. Na zdorovye!
3.6
157 reviews
Burlington, Canada
Community reviews
Charred oak, tar, smoke, dark chocolate nose, fairly strong. Black, thin head. Heavy char, burned toast, raisin. Full body, easy carbonation, chalky. Very roasty and bitter.
Draught @ Cooper’s Craft and Kitchen. Inky black with tan creamy head, mocha-berry aroma, medium carbonation, bitter roasted malt-coffee taste with alcohol undertones, smooth thick body, long mocha finish. Very thick and tasty.
Rough stout. Very caramelly but bitter with bitter aftertaste. Bought it because of the can and I like Guinness and Muskoka stouts.
Can dated 01 Feb 2017: Pours black with a thin tan/light brown head. Aroma of roasted malt, chocolate, alcohol and a weird vegetal, green pepper, and herbal scent (didn’t get much fruit, maybe some dried raisin/licorice). Lots of bitter taste (may be a bit thin and overly hopped), alcohol not very subdued, tingly carb and long bitter dry finish. The upside is that it has a nice smooth syrupy smooth chocolate cacao mouthfeel. Weird, because I’ve had a few cans of this before without much issue, and I quite liked Kentucky Bastard which is just a barrel-aged version of this (sorry Nickel Brook).
Aroma is dark malts and dark fruit/very vinous. The flavor is dark malts, dark fruit/vinous, mild coffee/chocolate and a mix of mild/medium sweetness and spicy/acidic in the finish.
Canned. Dark body, dark brown small head. The aroma is sweet and malty. Surprisingly no chocolate. The taste is good, slightly sour, but balanced.
Out of the can, poured a deep espresso colour with a persistent mocha head. Aromas of coffee, dark chocolate, roasted malt, smoke, and roasted nuts. I didn’t pick up any fruit notes. The roast was quite bitter on the palate for my taste. Ashy. Flat cola. Burnt coffee. Personally didn’t find it pleasant but others may appreciate the punch. May have just had an off batch.
Tap at mellow mushroom. Pour is black. Nose is dark smoke and hint of nut. Carmel and thick molasses up front with nut and alcohol feel later. Super smooth and moderate complexity for an imperial stout.
473 ml can. Black, with a thick brown head. Roasted malty aroma with coffee, chocolate and bitter hoppy notes. The flavour is roasted malty, with licorice, chocolate, coffee, fruity notes, and a warm bitter finish. Tasty.
Appearance: dark black, with brownish head. Smell: cacao, coffee, confit fruits. Taste: Especially dry for the style. Overall: top level IS at a reasonable price.
Pours nearly black with a light brown head. Aroma is coffee and roasted malt. Taste is sweet with a bitter hop finish. Notes of roasted malt, dark chocolate, brown sugar, liquorice, hazelnut, raisins and a lot of hops. Creamy, not too much of a burnt flavour, and none of the chalkiness that comes with many stouts but a bit too hoppy.
Canette
Couleur noire ténébreuse, petite mousse collée a parois du verre. Ça sent le grain rôtie, le chocolat au lait et la noisette. En bouche, c’est similaire avec un soupçon d’alcool en plus. Une stout qui se boit tout seul! On dirait qu’elle est plus vivante qu’en bouteille!
12 oz bottle from Root Cellar at home. Pours dark brown to black in color with a large tan head. The aroma and flavor have roasted malts, dark chocolate, molasses, hints of dark fruit, roasted coffee, earthy bitterness to the finish, nothing stands out, but a decent imperial stout nonetheless.
Bottle on the train to Egham Beer Festival, 04/08/16.
Pitch black with a well appointed dirty tan head.
Nose is light roast, spice, bitter dark fruit shreds, earthy, molasses, cocoa rub.
Taste comprises toasted brown sugars, fruit esters, light peppery spice, toffee, light chocolate.
Full bodied, fine carbonation, semi drying close with light warming alcohol.
Ok impy.
A delicious no frills imperial stout. Nowadays if an imperial stout isn’t brewed with coffee or barrel aged or has some adjunct flavoring it is not looked at favorably. This is a good old fashioned imperial stout. Aroma was good but a little boozy. Chocolate and dark roasted malt. Pour was a deep dark brown/near black with a one finger tan head. Taste was just as the aroma let on. Big dark chocolate and roasted malt flavors with a big bitter hoppy alcoholic finish. Good carbonation.
Can on the train to Egham. Opaque black beer with a decent brownish head. Roasted chocolate and licorice aroma, dark chocolate, cocoa powder. Roasted chocolate flavor, licorice, raisins, some warming alcohol. Quite nice.
bottle @ Jungle Jim’s / Cincinnati OH --- Aroma of roasted malt with wine overtones. Opaque black color, four-finger brown head that is slow to drop, heavy bands of lace. Taste is enormous bitter roasted malt that has bitter chocolate and black coffee in the mix to assure the bitterness. Medium carbonation joins on the swallow, but mostly this is a one-trick, strong, alcohol laced brew. Not a strong one for me.
Dark dark brown with off white brown head. Sweet coffee chocolate aroma that seems equally balanced with the flavour of the beer too. Body is okay almost verges on the water but stays sufficiently away from that. Has a bit of an alcoholic kick.
Sampled from a 12 oz brown bottle this beer poured thick, black and a bit oily with an enormous fluffy brown head that lingered forever and left good lacing. The aroma was cocoa, wood and hints of vanilla and cola. The flavor was bitterish with red wine and cocoa notes. Long finish. Moderately full bodied and creamy. Well done.
12 oz bottle. Pours black with a light brown head. Thick chocolate and raisin aroma, molasses, and cream. A nice rich molasses and raisin mix leads the flavor, cocoa and creamy malted milk ball flavor. Really very tasty.
Draft. Black pour, tan head. This is a nice Imperial stout cause it is not super sweet, has a nice coffee-like character and a dryer body thanmost.
Re-Rate. Can. The initial 3.0/5.0 was, maybe, a little low.
Pours almost opaque black, with a short creamy brown head. Can’t argue with the appearance. It’s thick, and big, and the head is creamy and adds a good touch of lace. Tastes better than it smells, however that description is; very sweet with notes of fruity tropical rum, milk chocolate, heavily roasted malts.
Again... the base beer for all Nickel Brook’s higher gravity concoctions are very very sweet. There is an underlying salt water/sponge toffee flavour that is both good and bad. Mouthfeel is a bit thin, carbonation is appropriate.
Alcohol is very hot. Mouthfeel is bang on. But, it’s hellishly sweet, with under-fermented sugars. Everything is just burning in the alcohol. I think they’re doing a great job, but the big beers made by this company do not age well. I’ve had both the BW and IS... aged for 2-3 years, and they don’t improve. They don’t degrade, but there is no benefit. It’s just a great big saucy beer.
Of course there is a lot of coffee, chocolate, ripe fruits. Traces of licorice.
This finishes very hot with alcohol for something that only clocks in at 8.5-9%. It’s okay for Ontario (2005)... worldwide..... this is not very refined.
I think a nitrogenated tap version of this would make it more palatable.
Pours non transparent black with a small milky brown head. Roasted coffee and dark fruit aroma. Great taste of roasted coffee, dark fruits, molasses and some bitter dark chocolate. Full body, creamy smooth with a low carbination. Very good, enjoyable beer.
12 ounce bottle, bottled on 18 JAN 2016. Served in a snifter, the beer pours dark brown/black with an inch and a half tan head. Head retention and lacing are both pretty good. Aroma is nice, the brew smells like bittersweet chocolate, coffee, burnt/charred malt, molasses, licorice, dark fruit and some herbal hoppiness. For the most part I think the taste is just like the aroma, but there’s also some vanilla and pine hops noticeable too. This one gets better the warmer it is (and I let the bottle sit out of the fridge for around 20 minutes before opening it). Mouthfeel/body is medium/full, it’s slick and creamy with a good amount of carbonation. I think it’s a good imperial stout, next time I’ll have to try this fresher since the label says Drink Fresh, Do Not Age. I’ve seen it around for a little while but didn’t buy any until last weekend. Definitely worth picking up, this is the 2nd Nickel Brook brew I’ve tried and I haven’t been disappointed yet! $2.59 for a single bottle.
Yes, one of the most rudely on style impy stouts around, has a big beautiful black pour with a great head. Puffy pillowy head fer shure that does not fade. Strong bitter sensations, do I feel some IPA in there? Big fat rude like a fricken clown in the class. If you like impy stout check it out, worth it. Terribly nasy nellie on style blackish beer. Finish is boozy & warming, heheh.
Snifter on tap at Marty’s Hops & Vines a couple weeks ago. Near-black, very dark brown color. Thin off-white head, good bits of lace. Moderate roast, mild spicy, some dark fruit. Bigger full body. Good chewiness. Lighter carbonation. Mild slick texture. Moderate to bigger sweet taste, light to moderate bitter. Mild alcohol warmth. Pretty enjoyable imperial stout. Greg says it’s got some nice smoke, bit of walnut. Wow, good note, Greg. On-point. Solid stuff overall, great to enjoy with my "adult grilled cheese". Bit fruitier and more robust than American examples, but it works, still.
12 ounce bottle into snifter, bottled on 1/18/2016. Pours pitch black color with a 2-3 finger dense and rocky tan head with incredible retention, that reduces to a large cap that lasts. Dense soapy lacing clings around the glass, with a good amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Incredible appearance! Aromas of big dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, toasted dark bread, caramel, molasses, smoke, char, light licorice/dark fruit, herbal, wood, floral, pine, and roast/smokey earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of dark/roast/bready malt and moderate earthy/piney hop notes; with great strength. Taste of big dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, toasted dark bread, caramel, molasses, smoke, char, light licorice/dark fruit, herbal, wood, floral, pine, and roast/smokey earthiness. Good amount of roast/char and herbal/pine bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, toasted dark bread, caramel, molasses, smoke, char, light licorice/dark fruit, herbal, wood, floral, pine, and roast/smokey earthiness on the finish for a while. Incredible complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malt and moderate earthy/piney hop flavors; with a great bitter/sweet roast malt/hop balance and zero astringent flavors after the finish. Moderate dryness from roast/hop bitterness and carbonation. Medium-high carbonation and fairly full bodied; with a very smooth, creamy/silky, and sticky/chalky balanced mouthfeel that is great. Alcohol is very well hidden with only a light warming lingering after the finish. Overall this is an incredible Russian imperial stout! All around outstanding complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malt and moderate earthy/piney hop flavors; and very smooth and easy to drink for the ABV. A highly enjoyable offering.
2016/02/26 - Pours a jet black colour with a medium, slightly rocky, tan hrs that quickly reduces and leaves moderate lacing. Aroma is roasted coffee, cocoa, molasses, dark fruits and a hint of licorice. Taste is molasses, roasted coffee, licorice and bitter cocoa. Mouthfeel is heavy with smooth carbonation and lightly warming finish. Really shines as it warms up.
355ml bottle. Pours black with a thin mocha coloured head, and some serious lacing. On the nose, dried fruit, molasses, strong dark coffee notes, light ash, light earthy notes, and unfortunately a hint of acetone as it warms up. Taste wise, cocoa, molasses, light ash, faint toffee with some mineral leaning hop bitterness that leads into espresso, molasses, light concentrated raisin note and some decent bitterness in the finish. On the cusp of being really good, but still a little rough around the edges.
355ml bottle. Dark brown, almost black body, medium chocolate head with good retention, some lacing. Aroma of coffee, licorice, vanilla, dark chocolate, condensed milk, herbs. Taste of burned toast, coffee, dark chocolate, noticeable amount of hops. Really good.